Jimboomba ratepayers are among the biggest beneficiaries from Logan City Council's $944.2 million budget, but rates will rise by 2.2 per cent.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
Most residents will pay a further $1.14 cents per week.
Mayor Darren Power said councillors considered freezing rates for six months, but that would increase pain for ratepayers as COVID-19 impacts hit hard.
"We are helping ratepayers spread the cost out over 12 months so they can plan their household budgets accordingly," he said in delivering the budget this morning.
The budget includes a number of big-ticket items for Jimboomba and surrounds.
A $1.7 million upgrade is on the way for the town centre, with eight projects to be delivered as council said it listened to feedback from the Jimboomba Summit last March.
The plan includes footpath dining, upgraded lighting for Cusack Lane and a new life for the disused railway corridor as a pedestrian and cycleway to safely link houses with the town centre.
Council will spend a further $2.3 million on a rugby league and touch football clubhouse at Jimboomba Park, and $300,000 on moving public amenities to the ground on South Street.
Council will splash more than $100 million on upgrading roads across the city, with $38.5 million to be spent on Chambers Flat Road.
Council will help pay for an upgrade to the section from Kings Way to the Mount Lindesay Highway, with more money coming from the federal government's Roads to Recovery Program.
This year's budget would set a record for road improvements. It spent $85 million on roads last budget.
Jimboomba streets will get $5 million worth of kerb and stormwater drainage upgrades, with more planned in coming years.
Elsewhere, council will install a $4.5 million concrete bridge at the Scott Lane culvert at North Maclean, and $32 million has been set aside for city-wide pavement work and resurfacing.
Council said it was a back-to-basics budget, with transparency and responsibility as it deliberated over one of the most challenging plans in history.
"There's no smoke and mirrors," Cr Power said.
"It's just a very no-frills budget that will help to ease the cost of living pressures on families and ensure council can continue to provide critical, essential services for the community."
Council said a June decision to shelve pay rises as part of the budget deliberations showed solidarity with ratepayers.
Read more local news here